Lando Norris set a new circuit record and stole the Pole of Charles Leclerc!

What a session I had at Monaco!, On the circuit where the qualifications often prove to be decisive in establishing the result on Sunday.

Lando Norris got the pole-place with Best time ever successful on Monaco streets. It is a result that turns him into a favorite for the Sunday race, where a victory would bring him closer to the world leader Oscar Piastri.

But let's take it with the beginning.

Coșmar day for Mercedes

There were only a few seconds of Q1, the first sequence of qualifications, when Kimi Antonelli lost control over the monopost and entered the parapet. Paradoxically, the red flag ensured the access to Q2, but also to the action today. Antonelli was the 15th fastest at the time of the accident, and in Q2 he could not improve his time.

The Mercedes disaster was finalized just a few minutes after the qualifications resumed, when George Russell was forced by technical problems to stop the monopost in the tunnel area.

The only surprises here, the eliminations of Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull Racing, 12th) and Carlos Sainz (Williams, 11th).

Infarction qualifications at Monaco: Lando Norris, Pole-Position with a circuit record

With 3 minutes left on the stopwatch, Lando Norris climbed the first place in the standings, achieving a time with 15 thousand seconds below that of the Oscar Piastri colleague. There was one last fast round in which the McLaren pair, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen to attack the pole.

Leclerc, local hero, winner at Monaco last season, was the only one who improved his time long enough by deferring Norris. But at his last quick passage, Lando set a new record of the circuit, stopping the timer to an amazing 1: 09.954.

Pole-postion for Norris, 3rd place for Oscar Piastri. An identical result in the race would approach the British just 3 points to the Papaya colleague in the general ranking of pilots!

Start grille for Sunday race from Monaco

Photo source: x @ f1